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Who Came First? Larry King ,The Octuplets' Eggs Or PR Firm

February 4, 2009

Which Came First, The Octuplets' Eggs or the PR Firm's Referral?

-- Did Octuplets' Mother Hire Public Relations Firm, Or Did Public Relations Firm Go To Mom First And Ask to Represent Her?

by staff writer

LOS ANGELES (RUSHPRNEWS)02/04/09 -- It's the old story: which came first, the chicken or th egg?According to news agencies across the country, the mother of the octuplets born in California is getting a lot of offers for book deals, TV shows and other business ventures.
"That's according to a PR firm she's hired," most news outlets are reporting.

But did the mom hire the PR agency direclty, on her own, after cold-calling several agencies, or did the PR agency ask to represent her after being referred to her by the hospital PR officer?

Did Nadya Suleman "cold call" Joann Killeen of the Killeen Furtney Group, as Killeen implied on the Larry King Show on CNN -- when he asked her how she got involved -- or did Killeen pick up the phone and contact Suleman first after being referred to her by the PR staff at the hospital where the babies were born?

In other words, which came first, the chicken or the egg? Or in this case, which came first, the mom and her octuplets, or the PR firm in search of an exciting new client after getting a nice, juicy referral from a cooperating hospital's PR department?



Inquiring minds in the PR business want to know.

It seems unlikely that Ms. Suleman, recuperating in the hospital after giving birth to 8 premature babies, would have the time or strength to cold-call a public relations firm and ask them to represent her, according to a source in the PR industry in New York. "It is much more likely that the PR firm called the mom or were referred to her by the hospital's PR department and laid out a good marketing plan to her and asked if they could represent her," the source said.

In fact, RushPRnews can report that Suleman retained the Killeen Furtney Group after the hospital's PR department referred the PR agency to the recuperating mom -- and she then agreed to their marketing proposals and decided to retain them, according to sources.

When RushPRnews asked Killeen how the deal to represent the mom came about, Killeen replied in a BlackBerry email directly to this reporter: "I was referred to my client. She chose my PR firm to represent her and her family."

However, on the Larry King Show, Killeen seemed to imply that Suleman came to her, saying to Larry, when he asked, "So she retained you personally?" (which implies that Suleman contacted Killeen first) and Killeen replied, "Yes, she did."

Are we quibbling here? Yes, we are quibbling. Someone's gotta do it. Mea culpa.

Here is an
excerpt of the Larry King Show transcript where King asked Killeen how she came to represent Suleman:

KING: And what -- first of all, how did you come to represent her?

KILLEEN: We're a public relations firm here on the West Side [of Los Angeles]. We have a good reputation. We're known for doing great work, and compassionate and ethical practice...

KING: She retained you personally?

KILLEEN: Yes, she did.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0902/03/lkl.01.html

Killeen told reporters that Nadya Suleman is "the most sought after mom in the world right now." She said hundreds of requests have poured in from all over the world, from People magazine to the Oprah Show in Chicago.

Killeen told Larry King that Suleman hasn't made any decision on what she might do. Suleman remains hospitalized with her children in Los Angeles, according to news reports.

Killeen said some of the deals and requests for interviews involve offers to pay. She's not saying how much is being offered, but notes that it will be expensive to raise eight babies.
She said that Suleman plans to carefully review her financial opportunities and denied reports that Suleman had already decided to host a TV show on parenting.

Suleman is a 33-year-old single mother who already had six children when she gave birth to her octuplets. They are now the longest-living U.S.-born octuplets, and hospital officials say they're doing fine.

Killeen, who serves as president of the Killeen Furtney Group, is an award-winning public relations executive with over 30 years of industry experience, according to the firm's website. She has created award-winning strategic marketing communications and public relations programs for Union Pacific Railroad, Wal-Mart, Microsoft and Blockbuster, among other firms represented.

Her agency is a full-service marketing and public relations agency based in Los Angeles. It works with businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations "to develop and execute strategic communication plans designed to exceed business objectives," according to the website.

"We think about your business as if it were our own," the firm says on its website. "We develop research-based strategies that focus on your goals. We recommend only those strategies that we know will work best for you. We help you achieve your business objectives, on budget, while ensuring that your timeline is met. Our team of seasoned experts is a mix of senior talent including those who have worked in a corporate public relations setting, in government agencies, and as members of the news media or who have earned their public relations stripes in the agency world."

Read the entire Larry King Show transcript here for verbatim details on how the deal went down:

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0902/03/lkl.01.html

LARRY KING: We're joined now by Joann Killeen, the publicist for Nadya Suleman, the mother of 14, including those new octuplets. First, how are they all doing?

JOANN KILLEEN: They're doing great, Larry, absolutely great.

KING: Mother and children.

KILLEEN: Mother's doing well. The children are off ventilators, they're breathing on their own. They're doing really, really well.

KING: How are they paying for all this?

KILLEEN: How are they paying for what?

KING: Medical bills.

KILLEEN: Well, she's a Kaiser patient. Kaiser Permanente. So...

KING: She's covered.

KILLEEN: She's covered.

KING: For all of it?

KILLEEN: She's covered.

KING: How is she -- is she married?

KILLEEN: No, she's not. She's a single woman.

KING: How old are the six children that she's had previously?

KILLEEN: They range from age 2 to age 7. She now has 14 children under the age of 8. She has 10 boys and four girls.

KING: Do the six have the same father?

KILLEEN: They all have the same father.

KING: And what -- first of all, how did you come to represent her?

KILLEEN: We're a public relations firm here on the West Side. We have a good reputation. We're known for doing great work, and compassionate and ethical practice...

KING: She retained you personally?

KILLEEN: Yes, she did.


UPDATE: 02/04- 11 am
Joann Killeen was referred to Nadya Suleman by a public relations colleague, she told RushPRnews in a later email after the story above was published online. She also said that she had never worked with that hospital before in any public relations capacity, and she also stated that she was not referred to Nadya by anyone in the hospital's PR department, as we incorrectly reported above. Joann added: "I run a public relations firm that has a great reputation for quality work. In addition, I am the past national president of PRSA, the largest public relations association in the world. Hope this helps."

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